Apparatus and methods for resolving recording conflicts of a digital video recorder

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods are provided which facilitate the resolution of recording conflicts of a digital video recorder (DVR). A DVR identifies a recording conflict between a first recording timer associated with a first television program and a second recording timer associated with a second television program. A communication is initiated to a communication device associated with a user of the digital video recorder to inform the user of the recording conflict. Responsive to the communication, the user provides information to the DVR via the communication device requesting to resolve the recording conflict. The DVR utilizes the provided information to modify one or more of the conflicted recording timers to resolve the conflict.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/140,781, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR RESOLVING RECORDINGCONFLICTS OF A DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER”, filed on Dec. 24, 2008, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Digital video recorders (DVRs) allow users to record television programsfor later viewing. Typically, users set recording timers to recordparticular television programs at specified times. Recording conflictsoccur if two or more recording timers are set at the same time orotherwise overlap. Recording conflicts may occur after the user sets arecording timer if the broadcast schedule changes for selected programs.A DVR may automatically resolve a recording conflict according topre-determined priority rules absent user input to the contrary. Thepriority rules may result in the DVR not recording a program that theuser would have preferred to record. Thus, it is a problem that the useris not able to resolve recording conflicts while away from their DVR.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The same number represents the same element or same type of element inall drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a communication network.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a DVR of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates the communication device of FIG. 1 embodied as amobile telephone.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a communication network.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a process for resolving a recordingconflict.

FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of a process for resolving arecording conflict.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments described herein generally provide apparatus,systems and methods which facilitate the resolution of recordingconflicts. A DVR identifies a recording conflict between a firstrecording timer associated with a first television program and a secondrecording timer associated with a second television program. Acommunication is initiated to a communication device associated with auser of the digital video recorder to inform the user of the recordingconflict. Responsive to the communication, the user provides informationto the DVR via the communication device requesting to resolve therecording conflict. The DVR utilizes the provided information to modifyone or more of the conflicted recording timers to resolve the conflict.In short, the various embodiments described herein generally provideapparatus, systems and methods for exchanging information with acommunication device to resolve recording conflicts of a DVR.

In at least one embodiment, the DVR initiates transmission of one ormore short-message-service (SMS) messages to a communication deviceassociated with a user of the DVR. The SMS message includes informationregarding the recording conflict, such as identification of thetelevision programs associated with the conflicted recording timers. Inat least one embodiment, the SMS message includes options for resolvingthe recording conflict. A user may reply to the SMS message with arequest to resolve the recording conflict, e.g., by choosing one of theoptions presented in the SMS message. The DVR receives the reply to theSMS message, processes the contents of the message and modifies one ormore recording timers accordingly to resolve the recording conflict asindicated by the user's instructions.

In at least one embodiment, the DVR may initiate transmission of ane-mail to a communication device associated with a user of the DVR. Theuser receives the e-mail message notification regarding the recordingconflict and provides input, via a reply e-mail, requesting to resolvethe recording conflict. The DVR processes the input to modify one ormore recording timers to resolve the recording conflict according to theuser's instructions.

In at least one embodiment, the DVR is operable to identify a recordingconflict and options for resolving the recording conflict. The DVR isfurther operable to initiate a phone call to the communication device ofthe user and provide the options to the user during the phone call. Forexample, the DVR may include a text-to-speech converter to synthesizethe information regarding the recording conflict into speech forpresentation to the user. The user may responsively provide input duringthe phone call requesting to resolve the recording conflict, e.g., bypressing a button on a telephone to select one of the presented options.In at least one embodiment, the DVR, or a communicatively coupledserver, may include speech recognition capability for collecting inputfrom the user. The DVR then processes the provided input to modify therecording timers accordingly.

In various embodiments, a DVR may utilize one or more of theaforementioned communication techniques to solicit information from auser for resolving a recording conflict. For example, a DVR may notify auser via an SMS message regarding a recording conflict and may receiveinput from the user via an e-mail message requesting to resolve therecording conflict. In at least one embodiment, the DVR may providenotification regarding the recording conflict to the user during a phonecall, and the user may provide input to the DVR via other communicationmediums, such as an SMS or e-mail message. Further, the techniquesdescribed herein may be applied to systems that include eitherstand-alone DVRs (e.g., recording devices located at customer premises)as well as network DVRs (e.g., recording devices located distal from thecustomer premises).

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a communication network 100. Thecommunication network includes a content source 102, a televisiondistribution system 104, a DVR 106, a presentation device 108, acommunication network 110 and a communication device 112. Each of thesecomponents will be discussed in greater detail below. The communicationnetwork 100 may include other components, elements or devices notillustrated for the sake of brevity.

The content source 102 is operable for receiving, generating andcommunicating content to one or more DVRs 106. The content to bereceived, processed, outputted and/or communicated may come in any ofvarious forms including, but not limited to, audio, video, data,information, or otherwise. In at least one embodiment, the contentsource 102 is operable for receiving various forms and types of contentfrom other sources, aggregating the content and transmitting the contentto the DVR 106 through the television distribution system 104. It is tobe appreciated that the content source 102 may receive practically anyform and/or type of information from one or more sources includingstreaming television programming, recorded audio or video, electronicprogramming guide data and the like.

The television distribution system 104 is operable to transmit contentfrom the content source 102 to the DVR 106. The television distributionsystem 104 may comprise any type of wired (e.g., cable and fiber) and/orwireless (e.g., cellular, satellite, microwave, and other types of radiofrequency) communication medium and any desired network topology (ortopologies when multiple mediums are utilized). Exemplary televisiondistribution systems 104 include terrestrial, cable, satellite andinternet protocol television (IPTV) distribution systems. In at leastone embodiment, the television distribution system 104 broadcasts ormulticasts content to a plurality of television receivers, e.g., DVR106. The television distribution system 104 may also distribute contentto a specific addressable television receiver, e.g., DVR 106, such asvideo-on-demand and the like. In at least one embodiment, the contentsource 102 may be embodied as a transmission facility of the televisiondistribution system 104. Exemplary content sources 102 includeover-the-air transmission facilities, cable television distributionhead-ends, satellite television uplink centers, broadband or internetservers and the like.

The DVR 106 is operable to receive content from the televisiondistribution system 104 and store the received content for subsequentpresentation to the user 114. The DVR 106 is further operable to outputthe received and/or stored content for presentation by the presentationdevice 108. In at least one embodiment, the presentation device 108 is adisplay device (e.g., a television) configured to display content to auser. The DVR 106 may receive an audio/video stream in any format (e.g.,analog or digital format), and store and output the audio/video streamfor presentation by the presentation device 108. In at least oneembodiment, the DVR 106 may be integrated with a television receiver,such as a satellite, cable, over-the-air, broadband or other type oftelevision receiver that receives and demodulates television signalsthat are outputted for display on a display device (e.g., a television).As used herein, a television receiver or DVR may also be referred to asa set-top box, which is a television receiver that is located externallywith respect to a display device. The DVR 106 may be further configuredto output menus and other information that allow a user to control theoutput of audio/video content by the DVR 106, viewing electronicprogramming guides (EPGs), set recording timers and the like. In someembodiments, the DVR 106 and the presentation device 108 may beintegrated as a device combining the functionality of a display deviceand television receiver/DVR or the like.

Responsive to particular recording timers, the DVR 106 coordinates thereception of video signals associated with a television program througha television receiving resource (e.g., a television tuner) and storageof the video signal onto a storage medium (e.g., a hard drive). The DVR106 may include any number of television receiving resources utilizedfor receiving television programs. A DVR 106 minimally includes at leastone television receiving resource to receive and record video signalsassociated with a television program. The DVR 106 may include multipletelevision receiving resources to record multiple television programssimultaneously. In at least one embodiment, the DVR 106 may includemultiple types of television receiving resources, such as anover-the-air (ATA) tuner and a satellite and/or cable television tuner.In some embodiments, the DVR 106 may be operable to assign a recordingtimer associated with a particular program to a specified televisionreceiving resource. For example, a first television program, broadcastbetween 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M., may be assigned to a first satellitetelevision tuner of the DVR 106, and a second television program,broadcast between 7:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M., may be assigned to a secondsatellite television tuner of the DVR 106.

Priorities may also be assigned to particular recording timers toprovide the DVR 106 with information for resolving recording conflicts.Thus, if a recording conflict occurs between two or more recordingtimers, then the DVR 106 may apply rules to the priority information todetermine which program to record absent input by the user 1 14requesting to resolve the conflict. For example, the earliest setrecording timer may have the highest priority for recording. Similarly,a more recently set recording timer may have the highest priority forrecording. In some embodiments, a user 114 may provide a recordingpriority for a particular timer when selecting the timer for recording.Thus, the particular rules applied by the DVR 106 for resolvingrecording conflicts may be determined based on desired design criteria.

The DVR 106 is further operable to exchange information with thecommunication device 112 through the communication network 110. Thecommunication network 110 may include any type of network that providesany type of connectivity between the DVR 106 and the communicationdevice 110. The communication network 110 may utilize any desiredcombination of wired (e.g., cable and fiber) and/or wireless (e.g.,cellular, wireless, satellite, microwave, and radio frequency)communication mediums and any desired network topology (or topologieswhen multiple mediums are utilized). Exemplary communication networksinclude television distribution networks (e.g., satellite and cabletelevision networks), wireless communication networks, public switchedtelephone networks (PSTN), the internet and local area networks (LAN) orwide area networks (WAN) providing data communication services.

The communication device 112 may comprise any type of device capable ofconnecting with the communication network 110 to receive informationfrom the DVR 106. Exemplary communication devices 112 includetelephones, mobile telephones, computers, personal digital assistants(PDAs), pagers and the like. The DVR 106 and the communication device112 may communicate over any type of communication service or protocol.For example, the DVR 106 and the communication device 112 may exchangetext data or the like via SMS or e-mail messages. In at least oneembodiment, the communication device 112 and the DVR 106 may exchangeinformation over a phone call, such as voice data ordual-tone-multi-frequency (DTMF) signals. In some embodiments, the DVR106 and the communication device 112 may exchange information over anycombination of the aforementioned communication services.

The DVR 106 is operable to identify recording conflicts between two ormore recording timers associated with two or more television programs.Responsive to identifying a recording conflict, the DVR 106 is operableto initiate a communication with the communication device 112. The DVR106 transmits information regarding the recording conflict to thecommunication device 112, e.g., the television programs or recordingtimers involved in the conflict, options for resolving the recordingconflict and the like. In at least one embodiment, the explanationidentifies the default resolution of the recording timer to be utilizedby the DVR 106 absent any user input. The user 114 receives thenotification regarding the recording conflict via the communicationdevice 112 and determines an appropriate solution for resolving therecording conflict. For example, the user 114 may cancel one of therecording timers, adjust the time or duration of one or more of therecording timers or associate one of the timers with a differentbroadcast of the same program. The user 114 provides input to thecommunication device 112 requesting to resolve the recording conflict,and the communication device 112 transmits the input to the DVR 106 forfurther processing. The DVR 106 processes the input and modifies one ormore of the conflicted recording timers in accordance with the user's114 instructions. Responsive to the modified recording timers, the DVR106 operates to record the selected television programs for subsequentviewing by the user 114.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a DVR of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 will bediscussed in reference to the communication network 100 illustrated inFIG. 1. The DVR 106A includes a television tuner 202, a processor 204, astorage medium 206 and a network interface 208. Each of these componentswill be discussed in greater detail below. The DVR 106A may includeother elements, components or devices which are not illustrated for thesake of brevity.

The television tuner 202 is operable to receive an audio/video input 210from the content source 102 (see FIG. 1). More particularly, thetelevision tuner 202 receives and tunes a television signal includingtelevision programming. The television tuner 202 may receive anover-the-air broadcast, a direct broadcast satellite signal, a cabletelevision signal or an internet protocol television (IPTV) signal andtune the audio/video input 210 to extract the selected televisionprogramming. In at least one embodiment, the DVR 106A may includemultiple tuners 202 utilized to view and/or record multiple televisionprograms simultaneously.

The storage medium 206 is operable to persistently store video signalsrecorded by the DVR 106A. The storage medium 206 may comprise any typeof non-volatile memory appropriate for storing video signals recorded bythe DVR 106A. Exemplary storage mediums 206 include hard drives (e.g.,magnetic memory), flash memory, battery packed up memory and the like.In at least one embodiment, the storage medium 206 may be internallylocated within the DVR 106A. In other embodiments, the storage medium206 may be located external with respect to the DVR 106A. The DVR 106Amay also utilize a combination of internal and external storage mediums206 for storage of video signals.

The processor 204 is operable to control the operation of the DVR 106A.The processor 204 may be a single processing device or a plurality ofprocessing devices that cooperatively operate to control the operationof the DVR 106A. The processor 204 may include various components ormodules for processing and outputting audio/video content. Exemplarycomponents or modules for processing audio/video content include ademodulator, a decoder, a decompressor, a conditional access module anda transcoder module.

The processor 204 coordinates storage of the audio/video input 210 ontothe storage medium 206. The processor 204 may also be operable togenerate an audio/video output stream 212 based on the audio/video input210, e.g., pass through the signal for display by an associatedpresentation device 108. The processor 204 is also operable to retrievestored video content to generate an audio/video output stream 212 fordisplay by the presentation device 108. An audio/video output stream 212is outputted to the presentation device 108 (see FIG. 1) forpresentation to the user 114. The processor 204 may incorporatecircuitry to output the audio/video output streams 212 in any formatrecognizable by the presentation device 108 using any type of interface,such as composite video, component video, Digital Visual Interface (DVI)and High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), internet, 1394 andWiFi. The processor 204 may also incorporate circuitry to supportmultiple types of these or other audio/video formats. In at least oneembodiment, as described above, the DVR 106A may be integrated with thepresentation device 108, and the processor 204 may be operable tocontrol the presentation of the audio/video output stream 212.

To coordinate the storage of the audio/video input 210, the processor204 is operable to receive user input requesting to record one or moretelevision programs. The processor 204 responsively sets recordingtimers associated with the television programs. The processor 204 isfurther operable to output user interface menus and other information toallow the user 114 to view the recording timers, modify recordingtimers., identify recording conflicts and provide input for resolvingthe recording conflicts in a desired manner.

The network interface 208 is operable to communicate with thecommunication device 112 through the communication network 110. Moreparticularly, the network interface 208 exchanges data with thecommunication device 112 regarding a recording conflict. The networkinterface 208 may communicatively couple to the communication network110 using any type of wired or wireless communication link and using anytype of network topology and protocol. For example, the networkinterface 208 may comprise an Ethernet port that communicatively couplesto the base station over the internet. In at least one embodiment, thenetwork interface 208 may be assigned a communication identifier forcommunicating with the communication network 110 and other devices, suchas the communication device 112. For example, the network interface 208may be assigned an e-mail address, phone number or the like for sendingand receiving communications.

In at least one embodiment, the communication network 110 comprises theinternet, and the network interface 208 is configured to transmit datato the communication device 112 over the internet. For example, theprocessor 204 may identify a recording conflict, and the networkinterface 208 may transmit an e-mail message addressed to thecommunication device 112 regarding the recording conflict. The messagemay be addressed to an e-mail address associated with the communicationdevice 112. In at least one embodiment, the network interface 208 isconfigured to transmit other types of messages, such as an SMS message,to the communication network 110 for transmission to the communicationdevice. The network interface 208 may be configured to address the SMSmessage to a phone number, e-mail address or other communicationidentifier of the communication device 112. In at least one embodiment,the DVR 106A may obtain the communication identifier from the user 114during a device configuration process. In the instance of an IPtelevision receiver, the network interface 208 may be integrated withthe television tuner 202.

In some embodiments, the network interface 208 is operable to transmitmessages to an external server that converts the message to a formatcompatible with the communication device 112. For example, the networkinterface 208 may be operable to connect to a web server that translatesa request from the network interface 208 into an SMS message fortransmission to the communication device 112. In at least oneembodiment, the external server may be operable to translate informationprovided by the network interface 208 into a communication identifier ofthe communication device 112. For example, the network interface 208 maytransmit a serial number or other identifier of the DVR 106A to theexternal server, and the external server may identify the communicationidentifier of the communication device 112 based on the serial number ofthe DVR 106A. In some embodiments, the network interface 208 may receivespeech data and may transmit the same to an external server for speechrecognition processing. The network interface 208 may then receive therecognized speech data and provide the same to the processor 204 forfurther processing.

As described above, the processor 204 identifies a recording conflictand several options for resolving the recording conflict. The networkinterface 208 transmits a first message 2 14 to the communication device112 that includes information regarding the recording conflict. Thecommunication device 112 receives the first message 214 and outputsinformation regarding the recording conflict to the user 114. The user114 provides input requesting to resolve the recording conflict and thecommunication device 112 transmits the input to the network interface208 in a second message 216. The processor 204 processes the informationin the second message 216 and responsively modifies one or morerecording timers associated with the recording conflict.

SMS messages are typically limited to 160 characters. Thus, a single SMSmessage may be inadequate for notifying the user 114 regarding arecording conflict. In at least one embodiment, the first message 214may include one or more conflict identification codes identifying therecording conflict, and the communication device 112 may be operable toparse the conflict identification codes to determine information fordisplay to the user 114. For example, the conflict identification codemay identify the time/date of a recording timer, a program associatedwith a recording timer, options for resolving the recording conflict andthe like. The communication device 112 may utilize information storedlocally or remotely to identify the information to display to the user114. For example, the communication device 112 may store a look-up tablefor identifying the information associated with particular conflictidentification codes. In at least one embodiment, the communicationdevice 112 may query an external server to identify information to bedisplayed for particular conflict identification codes.

In the previously described embodiments, the network interface 208exchanges data with the communication device 112 over a data network. Inat least one embodiment, the DVR 106A is operable to exchangeinformation with the communication device 112 over a phone calltransmitted over the communication network 110. For example, the networkinterface 208 may be operable to communicatively couple to either wiredor wireless telephone networks, to initiate a phone call to thecommunication device 112. The phone call initiated responsive to theprocessor 204 identifying a recording conflict.

In at least one embodiment, the network interface 208 includes a voicesynthesizer for converting a textual explanation of the recordingconflict into an audible representation. The network interface 208transmits the audible representation to the communication device 112during the phone call, and the communication device 112 provides theaudible representation to the user 114. The user 114 responsivelyprovides input that is transmitted back to the DVR 106A for furtherprocessing.

In at least one embodiment, the user 114 is presented with severaloptions corresponding with numerical identifiers. To select one of theoptions, the user 114 utilizes one of the keys of the communicationdevice 112 to input an option for resolving the recording conflict. Thecommunication device 112 transmits a DTMF signal to the networkinterface 208, and the network interface 208 is operable to identify theoption selected by the user 114 based on the DTMF signal. The processor204 then modifies one or more recording timers based the DTMF signal.

In some embodiments, the DVR 106A may use combinations of theaforementioned embodiments to exchange information regarding a recordingconflict with the communication device 112. For example, the networkinterface 208 may include a voice synthesizer for explaining therecording conflict and the options to the user 114. The networkinterface 208 initiates a phone call to the communication device 112 andprovides the voice explanation to the user 114 during the phone call.The user 114 may then initiate transmission of a message to the DVR 106Avia the communication device 112 separately from the phone call. Forexample, the user 112 may initiate transmission of an e-mail or SMSmessage to the DVR 106A with the input requesting to resolve therecording conflict.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the variousfunctional elements 202 through 208 shown as operable within the DVR106A may be combined into fewer discrete elements or may be broken upinto a larger number of discrete functional elements as a matter ofdesign choice. Thus, the particular functional decomposition suggestedby FIG. 2 is intended merely as exemplary of one possible functionaldecomposition of elements within the DVR 106A.

FIG. 3 illustrates the mobile telephone of FIG. 1 embodied as a mobiletelephone 112A. FIG. 3 will be discussed in reference to thecommunication network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. The mobile telephone112A includes a display 302, an input device 304, a transceiver 306 anda processor 308. Each of these components is discussed in greater detailbelow. The mobile telephone 112A may include other components, devicesor elements not illustrated for the sake of brevity.

The display 302 is operable for presenting information to the user 114.The display 302 may comprise any type of screen, such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD) screen or the like. The input device 304 isoperable for receiving input from the user 114. In at least oneembodiment, the input device 304 is telephone keypad. The user 114 mayutilize the keypad to input information for transmission to the DVR 106.The transceiver 308 is operable to wirelessly exchange data with the DVR106 via the communication network 110. More particularly, thetransceiver 308 is operable for sending and receiving the first message214 and the second message 216. In at least one embodiment, the firstmessage 214 may be transmitted in a plurality of communications, such asa plurality of SMS messages.

The processor 308 is operable for parsing the first message to identifya plurality of options to present to the user for resolving a recordingconflict. The processor 308 outputs the options for presentation by thedisplay 302. The processor 306 receives input from the input device 304selecting one of the options for resolving the recording conflict andgenerates the second message 216 for transmission to the DVR 106.

As described above, the first message 214 may include a conflictidentification code that is utilized by the processor 306 to identifyinformation to display to the user 114. For example, the conflictidentification code may identify a particular date, time or channel ofthe recording conflict, and the processor 306 may utilize a look-uptable to determine the corresponding information to be displayed for theconflict identification code. In at least one embodiment, the processor306 may query an external server to identify information to be displayedfor a provided conflict identification code. Thus, by utilizingidentification codes, the DVR 106 and the mobile telephone 112A mayexchange more information using less SMS messages.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the variousfunctional elements 302 through 308 shown as operable within the mobiletelephone 112A may be combined into fewer discrete elements or may bebroken up into a larger number of discrete functional elements as amatter of design choice. Thus, the particular functional decompositionsuggested by FIG. 3 is intended merely as exemplary of one possiblefunctional decomposition of elements within the mobile telephone 112A.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a communication network 400.More particularly, the communication network 400 includes network DVRfunctionality. The communication network 400 includes a presentationdevice 108, a communication network 110, a communication device 112, anetwork DVR 402, a television distribution system 404 and a televisionreceiver 406. Each of these components will be discussed in greaterdetail below. FIG. 4 includes components common to FIG. 1, and thedescription of these components is omitted herein for the sake ofbrevity. The communication network 400 may also include othercomponents, elements or devices not illustrated for the sake of brevity.

The network DVR 402 is operable to receive and record content from thecontent source 102. The network DVR 402 may be located at the head-endor other facility of a service provider, and is operable to recordcontent for a plurality of users. In at least one embodiment, each usermay be provided with dedicated space for recording content on thenetwork DVR 402. In some embodiments, the storage space and particularrecordings may be shared among a plurality of users. The televisiondistribution system 404 may be similar to the television distributionsystem 104. The television distribution system 404 may be furtherconfigured to transmit on-demand viewing to allow users to accesscontent on the network DVR 402.

The television receiver 406 is operable to receive content from thecontent source 102 via the television distribution system 404. Thetelevision receiver 406 may be embodied as a set-top box, such as cabletelevision receiver, satellite receiver, IPTV receiver or the like. Inat least one embodiment, the television receiver 406 may be integratedwith the presentation device 108. The television receiver 406 isoperable to communicate with the network DVR 402 to set recording timersand access content stored on the network DVR 402. The recorded contentis transmitted to the television receiver 406 responsive to a requestfor output by the presentation device 108.

When recording conflicts occur, the network DVR 402 is operable totransmit messages to the communication device 112 regarding therecording conflict. The communication between the network DVR 402 andthe communication device 112 may comprise SMS messages, e-mail messages,phone calls and the like as described above.

In at least one embodiment, the network DVR 402 is associated with atelephone number that the user 114 may call using the communicationdevice 112 to provide input the network DVR 402 regarding resolution ofa recording conflict. For example, the network DVR 402 may be associatedwith a call processing system for receiving phone calls from the user114. The network DVR 402 may initiate transmission of a message to thecommunication device 112 (e.g., an SMS or e-mail message), or may leavea voice mail for a telephone number associated with the communicationdevice 112. The user 114 may responsively call the call processingsystem and provide input via menus provided by the call processingsystem requesting to resolve the recording conflict. The network DVR 402utilizes the input to modify recording timers in accordance with theuser's instructions.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a process for resolving a recordingconflict. More particularly, FIG. 5 illustrates a process for notifyinga user of a recording conflict via a message transmitted to acommunication device of the user. The process of FIG. 5 may includeother operations not illustrated for the sake of brevity.

The process includes identifying a recording conflict of a DVR between afirst recording timer associated with a first television program and asecond recording timer associated with a second television program(operation 502). The process may optionally include identifying aplurality of options for resolving the recording conflict.

The process further includes initiating transmission of a first messageto a communication device associated with a user of the DVR (operation504). The first message includes information regarding the recordingconflict. In at least one embodiment, the first message includesinformation regarding the options for resolving the recording conflict.In some embodiments, the first message may include a plurality ofmessages, such as a plurality of SMS messages.

The process further includes receiving a second message from thecommunication device responsive to the first message (operation 506).The second message includes user input requesting to resolve therecording conflict. In at least one embodiment, the second message isaddressed to an e-mail address associated with the DVR. The processfurther includes modifying a first recording timer based on the userinput responsive to the second message (operation 508). In at least oneembodiment, operation 508 may additionally include modifying otherrecording timers, e.g., the second recording timer, based on the inputprovided by the user.

FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of a process for resolving arecording conflict. More particularly, FIG. 6 illustrates a process fornotifying a user of a recording conflict via a phone call to the user'scommunication device. The process of FIG. 6 may include other operationsnot illustrated for the sake of brevity.

The process includes identifying a recording conflict of a DVR between afirst recording timer associated with a first television program and asecond recording timer associated with a second television program(operation 602). The process further includes identifying a plurality ofoptions for resolving the recording conflict (operation 604).

The process further includes generating a textual explanation regardingthe recording conflict and the options for resolving the recordingconflict (operation 606). For example, operation 606 may comprisearranging the information identifying the recording conflict and theoptions for resolving the recording conflict into sentences.

The process further includes initiating a phone call to a communicationdevice associated with a user of the DVR (operation 608). The processfurther includes converting the textual explanation into an audiblerepresentation (operation 610). In at least one embodiment, theconversion process is performed by a text-to-speech synthesizer of theDVR. The process further includes transmitting the audiblerepresentation to the communication device during the phone call(operation 610).

The process further includes receiving user input from the communicationdevice selecting one of the options for resolving the recording conflict(operation 612). In at least one embodiment, operation 612 includesreceiving a DTMF signal from the communication device and processing theDTMF signal to determine the option selected by the user. In someembodiments, the DVR may include voice recognition functionality, andthe user may speak an option which is recognized by the voicerecognition module of the DVR. The process further includes modifying afirst recording timer at the DVR based on the user input (operation612).

Although specific embodiments were described herein, the scope of theinvention is not limited to those specific embodiments. The scope of theinvention is defined by the following claims and any equivalentstherein.

1. A method for resolving a recording conflict, the method comprising:identifying a recording conflict of a digital video recorder between afirst recording timer associated with a first television program and asecond recording timer associated with a second television program;initiating transmission of a first message to a communication deviceassociated with a user of the digital video recorder, the first messageincluding information regarding the recording conflict; receiving asecond message from the communication device responsive to the firstmessage, the second message including user input requesting to resolvethe recording conflict; and modifying the first recording timer based onthe user input responsive to the second message.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising: identifying a plurality of options for resolvingthe recording conflict; wherein initiating transmission of the firstmessage further comprises transmitting the plurality of options in thefirst message.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first messagecomprises a short message service (SMS) message.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the first message comprises an e-mail message.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the second message is addressed to an e-mail addressassociated with the digital video recorder.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the communication device comprises a mobile telephone.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein initiating transmission of the first messagefurther comprises: identifying a conflict identification code thatidentifies the recording conflict; and transmitting the conflictidentification code to the communication device in the first message. 8.The method of claim 1, further comprising: modifying the secondrecording timer based on the user input responsive to the secondmessage.
 9. A method for resolving a recording conflict, the methodcomprising: identifying a recording conflict at a digital video recorderbetween a first recording timer associated with a first televisionprogram and a second recording timer associated with a second televisionprogram; identifying a plurality of options for resolving the recordingconflict; generating a textual explanation regarding the recordingconflict and the options for resolving the recording conflict;initiating a phone call to a communication device associated with a userof the digital video recorder; converting the textual explanation intoan audible representation; transmitting the audible representation tothe communication device during the phone call; receiving user inputfrom the communication device selecting one of the options for resolvingthe recording conflict; and modifying the first recording timer at thedigital video recorder based on the user input.
 10. The method of claim9, wherein receiving the user input further comprises: receiving adual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal from the communication device;and processing the DTMF signal to identify the selected one of theoptions.
 11. The Method of claim 9, wherein receiving the user inputfurther comprises: receiving a short message service (SMS) message atthe digital video recorder from the communication device that indicatesthe user input.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the userinput further comprises: receiving voice data from the communicationdevice, the voice data corresponding with the user input; recognizingcontent of the voice data; and identifying the one of the options basedon the recognized content of the voice data.
 13. The method of claim 9,further comprising: modifying the second recording timer at the digitalvideo recorder based on the user input.
 14. A digital video recordercomprising: a television tuner that receives and tunes video signalsfrom a programming source; a storage medium communicatively coupled tothe television tuner that stores at least a portion of the video signalsreceived by the television tuner; a network interface that communicateswith a communication network; and a processor communicatively coupled tothe television tuner, the storage medium and the network interfaceoperable to: identify a recording conflict between a first recordingtimer associated with a first television program and a second recordingtimer associated with a second television program; initiate transmissionof a first message from the network interface to a communication devicethrough the communication network, the first message includinginformation regarding the recording conflict; receive a second messagefrom the communication device responsive to the first message, thesecond message including user input requesting to resolve the recordingconflict; and coordinate storage of at least one of the first televisionprogram and the second television program onto the storage mediumresponsive to the user input.
 15. The digital video recorder of claim14, wherein the processor is further operable to identify a plurality ofoptions for resolving the recording conflict and include the pluralityof options in the first message.
 16. The digital video recorder of claim14, wherein the first message comprises a short message service (SMS)message.
 17. The digital video recorder of claim 14, wherein the firstmessage comprises an e-mail message.
 18. The digital video recorder ofclaim 17, wherein an e-mail address is associated with the digital videorecorder and the second message is addressed to the e-mail address. 19.The digital video recorder of claim 14, wherein the communication devicecomprises a mobile telephone.
 20. The digital video recorder of claim14, wherein the processor is further operable to identify a conflictidentification code that identifies the recording conflict and transmitsthe conflict identification code to the communication device in thefirst message.
 21. A mobile telephone comprising: a display; a wirelesstransceiver that communicates with a mobile communication network toreceive a first message from a digital video recorder, the first messageincluding information regarding a recording conflict between a firstrecording timer associated with a first television program and a secondrecording timer associated with a second television program; a processorcommunicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver and 0communicativelycoupled to the display that parses the first message to identify aplurality of options to present to a user for resolving the recordingconflict and output the options for presentation by the display; and aninput device communicatively coupled to the processor that receives userinput selecting one of the options for resolving the recording conflict;the processor generating a second message based on the user input andinitiating transmission of the second message from the wirelesstransceiver to the digital video recorder.
 22. The mobile telephone ofclaim 21, wherein the wireless transceiver receives the first message ina plurality of short message service (SMS) messages, and wherein theprocessor parses the SMS messages to identify the options for display tothe user.
 23. The mobile telephone of claim 21, wherein the firstmessage includes a conflict identification code identifying therecording conflict, and wherein the processor parses the conflictidentification code to identify the options.